A Toolkit for Healthcare Analytics Value Generation

“One of the biggest issues is to be able to change the culture from shame and blame to continuous improvement, and using data to make decisions.” – ThedaCare, pioneer of LEAN in healthcare

There are plenty of guides covering the technical elements of successfully implementing analytics technology and programs. However, getting the technology right is the “easy” part. When it comes to generating value (measured by the various clinical outcomes, care quality, cost and efficiency metrics relevant to healthcare) from analytics investment and activity, the majority of work revolves around a “360 degree” view of analytics. Yet, less than half of health organizations have a clear, integrated analytics strategy.

With this in mind, we designed a Healthcare Analytics Toolkit to help organizations generate value from analytics. It includes a conceptual framework to ensure stakeholders properly embed an analytics strategy within the wider organization. Another feature that it includes is a value generation check-list outlining the critical factors in building pathways to tangible results. It synthesizes organizational experiences into practical guidance for increasing your analytics adoption.

Core values and capabilities are at the center of the framework because vision and strong leadership are at the heart of any significant change. This is the core ethos which underpins our conceptual framework for value generation from analytics. This is why the concept of data democratization (empowering individuals and teams with knowledge), working in tandem with cultural change (creating an environment which supports improvement top-down and bottom-up) is so important.

How should organizations use the framework? For analytics to deliver tangible value across healthcare, factors across all of these categories must work effectively together, creating an eco-system in which evidence-based decision making can thrive. But implementing "best practice analytics" robotically, without addressing specific organizational and cultural factors, will achieve little. There are some key principles identified – let’s call them deal-breakers- which you can use as a guide for planning, benchmarking, and also explaining how analytics fits within your organization for a non-technical audience.

Cultural change is about changing roles and responsibilities, effective teamwork, adopting agile and LEAN methodologies, staff and patient empowerment, greater transparency, and collaboration. You may have a healthy investment in data infrastructure, data governance, analytics, blockchain, and ML/AI technology, but a lack of interest from the workforce and poor adoption can result in stalled progress in the transformation necessary in healthcare delivery.

“The best way to know whether you’re really developing a continuous improvement in culture is whether or not your staff’s ideas are actually being implemented in your company. This means that you have a process that’s been established; ideas are captured and then they are actually implemented.” – ThedaCare. At ThedaCare, analytics activity is centralized under one team reporting to the Chief Medical Officer (CMO).

The Healthcare Analytics Toolkit is yours for the taking. Adapt the conceptual framework, complete the value generation checklist, and explore examples of healthcare organizations that have successfully generated value from analytics. Download here and let us know what you think in the comments below.